Flea Markets and Easter Eggs
by Takada Saiko
Summary: Peter drags Tony to flea market at 7AM on a Saturday and Tony is not awake enough to be amused. Endgame AU/divergent in that Tony lives.


The kid was ecstatic, and there was no pause button for it. The moment he'd found out that Morgan had never had an Easter egg hunt he had fixed every ounce of determination - which he was never lacking in - on making it the best Easter egg hunt she could ever want. Tony hadn't known exactly what that meant, having never really celebrated it himself as a kid, but he had thought maybe some colourful streamers, some chocolate, and bunnies. Bunnies were a thing, right? Just as long as they weren't real bunnies. There were still days Pep hadn't forgiven him for bringing Gerald home.

Somehow he'd gotten suckered into picking Peter up at seven in the morning. Tony had protested the hour loudly, but the teen had been adamant. It was some kind of special market that was only open certain days and if they didn't get there early it'd be picked clean. It had the best collection of All Things Holiday that they couldn't get anywhere else, he was certain. Tony just had to trust him.

So there he was, sitting in his Audi at seven in the morning outside of Peter's apartment building, second cup of coffee in his hand, and reminiscing about how soft and warm his bed had been that morning and how Pepper and Morgan were still enjoying their day to sleep in. Didn't saving the world a couple of times over buy him a pass on every early morning between now and the end of time? No? Well it should have.

A loud tap on the passenger window had him jumping in his seat and Tony glared over his sunglasses as Peter waved, far more awake than any self-respecting human had a right to be at this hour. He motioned and the teen popped in. "Morning, Mr Stark! You made it! I almost told you six-thirty because I thought you'd be late, but guess I was wrong. We're just gonna go a few blocks over. You want to walk? We could totally walk. Is this coffee for me?" He motioned to the extra thermos in the holder.

"No."

That stopped him in his far-too-awake-tracks. "No to the walking or no to the-"

"That's not your coffee, but no to the walking too."

"But… you've got a cup in your hands?"

"Kid, you wanted me in Queens by seven. This is at least a three cup kind of morning if you want me functioning."

"Your cardiologist is gonna yell at you again."

"And I will blame you and your early morning demands," Tony answered lightly, a small smirk finally tugging his lips. He finally motioned to the thermos and Peter grabbed at it before he changed his mind. "Where're we going?"

"Uhh, just a few blocks over. Honestly, we're getting such a late start we probably should walk. We'll park about as close."

Tony sighed dramatically and threw the car door open to step out. He followed in step with Peter as the kid rambled on about all the different types of holidays and celebrations he'd had when he was a kid. Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. They were always together, always happy to celebrate no matter what was going on around them. He went on and on about it, lulling Tony as they walked. There was something to be said about the innocence Pete had somehow retained over the years and through every trial he'd been up against. He was an amazing kid. Smart, brave, and determined. The world was safer for having him in it.

"Here it is!"

Tony slammed to a stop and looked at the big, wooden sign that read _Queens Flea Market_. "I'm sorry, did the store run out of Easter eggs?" he deadpanned.

"This was always it. C'mon!"

The older man didn't budge. "Flea market. Why is it called a flea market?"

Peter shot him a confused look. "I…. don't know?" He paused, tilting his head a little. "You know that flea markets don't actually carry fleas, right?"

Tony's dark gaze swept the rundown excuse for market beyond the entrance and he crinkled his nose a little. "Coulda fooled me. C'mon, kid. You can find whatever you need at a store."

The teen's sunny demeanor dropped a few pegs and his shoulders sagged. "It's just…. this is where May and Ben used to take me to get all the Easter supplies."

Ben. Ben Parker. Tony had only heard the kid mention his father's brother a handful of times, but he'd been gun down in a robbery just a couple years before they'd met. He had been Peter's inspiration to use his powers to help people, and had probably been the last close male role model in his life until….. well shit. He couldn't not go in now.

"Uh, Mr Stark?" Peter called after him as he strode by.

"Waiting on you now, Parker," Tony called over his shoulder.

And just like that, all the energy was back. Pete's mouth ran a mile a second as he talked about the different booths, what all they were looking for, and what all they could do to make that Easter amazing for Morgan. He bounced around, waving and chatting with vendors, and Tony did his best to blend in. Not that he ever did that well. It wasn't long until he had a kid or two tugging on his jacket and asking for Iron Man's autograph. A few passerbyers wanted photos and thankfully only one asked about the scars. That was an improvement.

"Last stop. Easter eggs."

"Is there a table that sells just plastic eggs?"

"How about one better?"

"What's that?"

"Cascarones."

"Huh?" He wasn't sure he trusted that wide grin as he took off for a table with egg cartons stacked.

The tiny woman watching the table greeted Peter in Spanish and the kid answered back surprisingly well, smiling and asking her questions in short sentences.

"Señora Cortez, Mr Stark doesn't know what cascarones are."

Tony offered an awkward wave of greeting and her dark eyes lit up as she smiled back. "I think you should show him." She grabbed for one of her cartons and opened it up, revealing twelve beautifully and brightly painted egg shells.

"Those are awesome, Pete, but Pep'll kill me if we hide real eggs in the yard."

"They're just shells," Peter laughed as he reached for one, a glint of mischief in his eyes that made Tony nervous. "See?" He held it up and Tony leaned in, every instinct screaming against the action. He found out why half a moment later as Peter reached up and smacked the hollowed-out egg shell against his head, confetti exploding from it and all down his face.

The teen leapt back in an instant, howling with laughter as Tony blinked against it, his own chuckle starting low in his throat. Oh. They were going to have fun. "Cascarones?"

"Cascarones," Señora Cortez confirmed through her own laugh.

"So we're gonna take all of them."

She looked over to Peter who shrugged, still laughing, and started piling cartons in a bag.

"Pepper's gonna mad when she realized there's confetti."

Tony offered his protege a wink. "I'll just make sure I run faster than you."

A few minutes later he'd paid the woman for their prize and they started the trek back to the car, both trying to catch the other unaware as they chucked confetti eggs at the other.

* * *

Notes: A friend sent over the prompts 

"Flea markets don't carry fleas, you know?"

and

"The store ran out of Easter eggs."

today when I posted a list and, with the whole news about Pete and Sony/MCU, this is what happened. I hope you guys enjoyed the post-Endgame AU fluff as much as I enjoyed writing it 3

Also, if you're not like me and didn't grown up celebrating Fiesta or Cinco de Mayo or Easter in Texas, go find yourself some cascarones. They're so freakin' fun.


End file.
